Kenya sets general election for March 4, 2013

Kenya on Saturday said the first general elections since deadly post-poll violence fours years ago would be held on March 4, 2013, ending weeks of heated exchanges between rival politicians. "We are going by a constitutional court ruling... which requires us to hold elections 60 days from when the parliament term ends," said Ahmed Issack Hassan, chairman of Kenya's Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). A high court ruled in January that elections should be held within 60 days of the expiry of the current parliament's mandate in mid-January 2013. However, the court also said the elections could be brought forward if there was a written agreement between President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to dissolve the coalition government they head. The IEBC said it had failed to receive a decision on that matter after meeting with both leaders, and so had gone ahead with the step to set the date. "It has become apparent to us that they don't intend to dissolve the coalition.... There is a disagreement amongst them on when polls should be held," Hassan said. "That is why we took it upon ourselves to fix the date." Kenya plunged into violence after the December 27, 2007, general elections in which Odinga -- then opposition chief, now prime minister -- accused Kibaki as the incumbent president of having rigged his re-election. What began as political riots soon turned into ethnic killings targeting members of Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe. They launched reprisal attacks in which homes were torched and people hacked to death in the country's worst violence since independence in 1963. Kibaki will not contest the next election. Two presidential hopefuls, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and former minister William Ruto, face trial in the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity over the post-election killings, charges they deny. They face counts including orchestrating murder, rape and persecution in the aftermath of the poll, which was described as "one of the most violent periods in Kenya's history." The trial date has not been set. The IEBC decision of March 4 next year is expected to be the final date, unless the collapse of the often strained coalition triggers an earlier poll. "In case there will be any other development to the contrary, we will respect the law and cross the bridge when we get there," Hassan added. Raila's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party said it was disappointed in the decision, calling for a December 17 2012 date that they claim "suits the calendar of ordinary" people. Many Kenyans who live in cities travel home -- where many are registered to vote -- in December for the Christmas holidays, while the rainy season traditionally begins in March, making travel to remote areas potentially harder. Last week Kibaki said he backed a 2013 vote in line with the ruling by the high court. "The court ruled that elections will be held in 2013, and there is no way I can change that," said Kibaki. "Whether I like it or not, there is no way I can change it. It will remain like that."